Immortals
by Books In the Blood
Summary: One of the biggest reasons Henry doesnt get close to others is because he will always outlive them and it was one of reasons he almost didnt adopt Abe. He's always accepted that eventually he'd live through the horror of outliving his own son. But what happens when Henry gets a call from the police station telling him to come pick up Abe who has supposedly been 'skinny dipping?


Henry pulled his sleeve down over the sore spot on his arm; he'd been given a bandage of course but he had pulled it off. The slowly ebbing pain of the needle and the small spot of blood on his shirt gave him a small moment of feeling and he preferred that to having it covered up. If he could remember the blood passing from his veins and into Abe's maybe he could convince himself that it would somehow keep him alive. Henry sat in the waiting room, staring at the floors; surely time must be passing, people talking and crying and living and dying. But Henry couldn't see any of it.

Abe was dying and he was taking Henry with him. It had always been one of Henry's greatest fears as an immortal that any connection he formed with people would one day come to an end. The people he loved would die and he would be forced to live on, dying in spirit but never in body. It had been one of the hundreds of reasons he had argued against adopting Abe more than 70 years ago. But he couldn't regret the joy and love Abe had brought to his life; all he could feel was pain for the loss of it.

A week ago Abe had had a massive heart attack resulting in his going instantly into surgery. Henry had already though it was bad; even worse when the surgery had resulted in complications. Henry had offered his blood in a heartbeat when he had needed it; Abe had a rare blood type that Henry shared. He supposed that it only brought more truth to the notion that they were distantly related. But nothing the doctors were doing was helping Abe; every day he got paler and smaller and weaker looking. Henry had always feared the day that Abe's mortality would catch up to him and now was it. Though he desperately wanted him to make it, Henry wasn't sure he would.

Henry just stared down at the floor, unable to move. Some part of him wanted to cry but he couldn't even do that; he felt immovable and frozen with pain. All he could think of was the first sight he'd had of Abe in Abigail's arms; perfect and completely unscathed despite the dangerous conditions that he had been found in. How could it be that that had been over 70 years ago? Memories of Abe throughout the years flashed through his mind and hit him hard. Abe had lived a long, good _mortal_ life but it felt like the blink of an eye to someone like Henry. He felt sick to his stomach, all of the force of his grief hitting him completely; any life would feel short to Henry if it wasn't immortal. Despite his knowledge that he was forever young while Abe aged, it still felt impossibly wrong that he would outlive his son; that was not supposed to happen.

Henry could feel his numbness giving way to the tears that he had wanted to let lose when he heard the sound of alarms ringing down the hallway. Henry's heart leapt inside his chest and he was already on his feet. There was nothing to make him think that it was Abe; but there was nothing to make him think it wasn't Abe either…

Until Henry had reached Abe's room, he was still convinced deep down that it wasn't him…it _couldn't_ be him…But when he stood at the doorway of Abe's room, his entire world crashed around him. It wasn't an elderly man he saw, it wasn't a man that had lived his years fairly…all he saw was his son… _his baby_ ….

And he was dying….

Henry watched in horror as the staff around Abe tried to revive him, his heartbeat flat lined on the screen. Henry should do something…anything….but he was frozen at the door. What could he do that they weren't already doing? It made him feel completely helpless, as a doctor and a father…..there was nothing that he could do to help Abe. After all of the times that Abe had helped him, had dragged him away from dark places in his mind, gave him a reason to thrive, he couldn't do anything to help him.

Henry watched for what felt like forever, praying, begging a god he didn't believe in to bring Abe back. He was still immovably stuck when the nurses and doctors stopped their efforts and then they were talking about time of death….it sounded like a rushing sound to Henry, far off and distant like everything had to travel though water to get to him.

And then it finally reached him….

Abe was gone…. _he was dead_ …

"No…No! Abe!" Henry's lack of movement was cured all at once as he threw himself at Abe. He was crazy, angry, lashing out at the staff around in a desperate effort to get to Abe, to prove that Abe wasn't really dead. He had to prove to himself that the only thing that was keeping him anchored to this horrible world hadn't really left him…

Henry hadn't noticed the damage he'd done, the scared look on the nurses' faces until security was dragging him out of the room. Didn't they know? Didn't they care? Someone was close to him, telling him to calm down as they pulled him out of the room, trying to comfort him…how could they say that? Abe was gone…how could he possibly be calm?

With the fight gone out of him, nothing was left but the wave of sadness that was sure to consume him. There was a commotion going on in the room behind him but he couldn't be bothered to care about it….his precious Abe was gone and nothing was left. Henry crumpled to the ground, sobbing openly and not remotely caring if anyone saw him.

This was not a life worth living…..He thought about how painful it had been when Abigail had left, how much he had wanted to die but he couldn't. It was Abe that had made him want to live life fully once again. But now it was Abe that was gone…who would make life worth living now? He had never hated his condition more than he did at this moment; he didn't even have the option of ending it all.

It was a miracle that he heard anything through his own grief; somehow through the sounds of life and death and the own pain in his head he managed to hear something that changed everything.

"What do you mean he disappeared?"

"He was here one minuet and then the next he was gone!"

Henry was sure that his own loss was stealing his mind but that didn't stop him from picking himself off of the floor and looking into Abe's room. The tears dried on his face and his heart nearly stopped when he saw the bed was empty…

How was that possible? Abe had died and now he had disappeared…..it could only mean one thing, the one thing that he had never allowed himself to consider, the one thing that he wanted more than anything.

…..

Henry didn't stick around the hospital for the inevitable questions that would arise. He didn't care about the fallout, the questions…..all he cared about was getting to the East River. He jumped out of the cab when they got there and ran as fast as he could to the River's edge. The winter air stung his lungs and came out in hot puffs and he wanted to get to Abe as soon as he could; this was the worst kind of weather to reawake in.

Reawake….

Was it really possible? Henry had had believed for a long time that he was the only person who was immortal. When he met Adam, he was proved wrong; other people could be immortal. But how? Adam seemed convinced that the weapon that killed you first could kill you again but Henry was unconvinced. He'd never thought it had anything to do with genes or blood but maybe it did? He and Abe were distantly related so maybe heredity had something to do with it. Henry didn't really care…..all he cared was getting to his son when he needed him most.

The good thing about the cold was that there were very few people around; broad daylight deaths were always when Henry got caught and subsequently taken to the police station. Henry ran to the water's edge, taking off his coat in preparation for Abe's emergence from the water. Henry stood watching the water with a hawk's eye, waiting for the smallest ripple or shudder of the black, still water but it never came. Henry's hard breaths slowly stilled and the bubble of his hope in his chest began to fizzle out. Had he gotten it wrong? Abe had died and then he disappeared…..what other option was there but to assume that Abe had somehow, in some miracle, become like him?

Henry was feeling the desperate ache of his hope faltering when he felt the buzzing of his phone in his pocket. He'd once considered them an annoyance but after Abe had gotten sick carrying one was a necessity. With his shaky fingers, he answered the phone.

"Abe!?" Henry asked, hopeful and anxious as he put the phone to his ear.

"No…..its Jo" Jo's voice came out confused on the other end. "But you were close. Abe's…..uh…..actually here. At the station"

Henry's heart was swelling with the hope that his notion had been true; Abe was alive! But he felt regret that Abe had been no doubt spotted 'skinny dipping' on his first death. It was a horribly embarrassing experience and he wished he'd gotten there sooner. But Abe was alive and right now that was enough. "Great! I'll be right there" Henry said, his hands shaking from the relief of it all.

"Henry…aren't you going to fill me in?" Jo asked. "Last I heard Abe was in the hospital in critical condition and now your 70 year old roommate takes up your bizarre past time of skinny dipping in the East River. Its thirty degrees outside!"

"Uh….later" Henry said uncomfortably before hanging up the phone. He didn't want to give Jo the chance to say something else. He knew all of this must look crazy but he didn't have time to answer her questions. He knew it was unlikely that she would forget but he could cross that bridge when he came to it. Right now, he just had to get to Abe….

….

Henry raced through the hallways of the station, making his way as quickly as he could to Reece's office. His heart was thumping in his chest, sweat pouring from his body despite the fact that it was so cold out; every cell in his body was primed with excitement and nothing on him could stay still. Abe was alive…he'd been so sure all of Abe's life that one day he would have to say goodbye to him; when he'd gotten sick he was sure that that day had come. The few minuets that he had been convinced that Abe was dead were pure torture; now he'd never have to face that moment again.

Henry was almost to Reece's office when he was stopped by Hanson. Henry stopped as Hanson walked into his path, cursing to himself at being slowed down when all he wanted was to see Abe and convince himself that he was really alive. "What's the deal with your roommate, doc?" Hanson asked with a laugh, obviously taking amusement in the fact that Abe had been caught like he had. Several people standing by them also snickered at the situation at hand.

"What 'deal'?" Henry asked miffed at being stopped just for humor but not wanting to really say anything about why Abe was here.

"What, did you get tired of skinny dipping solo and decided to convince him to be as crazy as you?" Hanson said with a chuckle.

Henry's ire rose. He knew that everyone thought it was funny just like they had thought it was funny when he'd been caught but there was nothing funny about it to Henry. Abe had died…Henry still felt the pain of it in his stomach and heart. Now he didn't have to 'skinny dip' alone; he had Abe to share the experience with. While he'd always had to bear the burden of immortality alone, now he and Abe were a team in it. It made him feel even more kindredness with his son.

Henry's face was red and hot as he took all of this in. "Has anyone thought that perhaps it is none of their damn business?" Henry asked in an angry tone before pushing past Hanson and continuing down the hall. Henry had one split second glance of the shocked expression on Hanson's face before he tore past him and into Reece's office. Henry rarely got angry in front of his coworkers and he never cursed; he had shocked them. Good…when you stunned people they left you alone.

Henry burst into Reece's office and his heart nearly stopped. "Abraham…" Henry could feel tears stinging his eyes and that was no good because he couldn't cry here. But Abraham was there….alive and well and looking just like he had before he had gotten sick. At the sound of his name, Abe turned around and looked at Henry. His eyes were deep and downcast, full of sorrow and Henry ached for his pain in a way that he had never felt before. He thought about how much it had hurt when Abe was small and he would fall down; he'd scoop him up as he cried and do what he could to make Abe feel better even while his heart broke inside that his son had to feel pain when all he wanted was for him to be happy. Now Abe was facing the worst pain he'd ever faced and Henry cursed Reece and everyone else in the station for being there and preventing him from rushing forward and hugging Abe like he wanted to do.

"Good, you're here" Reece said, noticing Henry's entrance, her tone conveying anything but his presence being good. "Care to explain what is going on here? You're got two accounts of indecent exposure since working here and now your roommate here takes it up as well? What am I going to do with you two?"

Abe looked from Henry to Reece, shrugging his shoulders as he gave them a weak smile. "Hey, what can I say? I told here you were a terrible influence, Henry. What a way you have of corrupting a poor old man"

Henry's heart broke further and he was sure that his face betrayed him. Abe, always joking, always looking like he was fine even when he was hurting inside. "I take full responsibility for this" Henry said, pushing past his emotion, "this is my fault. I am sorry. This will not happen again" Henry knew it wasn't a promise that he could make for himself or for Abe but in this moment he had to try.

Reece looked at Henry with a fatigued expression. "Am I going to have to insist that you go to more therapy?" she asked, a note of concern in her voice.

"No…..of course not. I am fine" Henry said quickly. That was the last thing he needed; someone not only asking why he chose to swim in the river naked but also why Abe did. That could get into a whole mess of questions about his and Abe's relationship that he was not willing to try and answer.

Reece raised an eyebrow at him. "Henry…..do you honestly not see anything wrong with this?" she asked him seriously. "Those waters are at life threatening temperatures at this time of year. What are you thinking?"

Henry wished he could laugh it off; make some silly joke about it. But he couldn't; this was a problem and all he wanted to do was get Abe home safe and sound. "Yes….." Henry relented, "I see that of course this is inexcusable behavior and it won't happen again. Please…can we just go home?"

Reece looked at Abe with concern for a moment and Henry cringed; what must she think? Henry convincing an elderly man to jump into the East River naked in the winter without regard for his health? She probably thought he was a danger to Abe. "If this happens again I am going to insist that both of you have extensive professional help" Reece said sternly. She sighed heavily. "But yes, for now you're free to go."

…..

It was all Henry could do to act normal on the cab ride home. He knew that if he let his feelings out for one moment they'd all come crashing out and he wouldn't be able to stop it. All he could the entire ride was just watching Abe and marvel at the miracle that he was still here. This morning he thought his life had ended; he'd seen his only son die. But now here he was, alive again; somehow he was immortal and Henry would never have to worry about losing him again. He could see Abe looking at him out of the corner of his eye, seeming embarrassed by Henry's constant stare but he didn't say anything; he just stared tiredly out of the window. He gave the occasional sniffle and cough and Henry made a mental note to make sure that he didn't catch pneumonia from the frigid swim.

When the cab stopped outside of the shop, Henry paid the cabbie as Abe climbed out and made his way inside. Henry rushed after him and his mouth was running as soon as he burst through the door.

"Isn't this incredible!? Abraham, do you know what this means? You're immortal!" Henry was rambling, excitement exploding with every word. "I don't know how this is possible but we'll never have to worry about losing each other again. Oh Abe…..you don't what a relief this is to me! All of your life I've worried about losing you and now I don't have to! Isn't this great?!"

Henry's crazed ramblings were broke off by the sound of sniffle as he looked at Abe; really looked at him. Abe was sitting in one of the antique chairs in the shop, rubbing at his eyes embarrassed as he sniffled in vain. Abe didn't have a cold; he was crying. Henry suddenly felt horrible; Abe had died today. Henry hadn't even thought to ask how he felt. Maybe Abe wasn't even happy; maybe he didn't want to be immortal. Even so, he was no doubt feeling all kinds of emotions and Henry was being completely insensitive.

"Oh Abe…how thoughtless of me" Henry said, his voice dropping.

"Sorry, pops" Abe said, trying to brush it off but Henry could see he was genuinely upset. "I know I should be happy. Don't know why I'm so emotional. I'm fine…really…"

Henry felt tears gathering in his own eyes. Abe was always strong, always confident and cocky. He never let his sadness show. If ever he had a reason to cry, dying was it and still he felt the need to cover it up. "Abe, you don't have to be fine. You can be upset" Henry told him truthfully. "I was being totally insensitive."

"It's okay…..it's alright" Abe insisted but he was losing his control. Tears gathered in his eyes and ran down his cheeks as he looked away from Henry. Henry wasn't sure the last time that he had seen Abe cry but the sight of it broke his heart.

"Come here, Abe" Henry urged him, holding out his arms. He was both surprised and relieved when Abe got off of the chair and rushed into his open embrace. Having now given in, he let himself go fully; Henry's body shook with the force of Abe's sobs; he rubbed Abe's back comfortingly as he cried himself. He was happy, so happy about having Abe back but at the same time he felt sadness for Abe; being immortal was a hard way of life and though he wished Abe to be immortal for his own selfish feelings, he wouldn't wish the pain of it on his son.

When Abe's sobs began to die down, Henry hugged him tighter. "I love you so much, Abe. I was so scared of losing you. I'm so glad to have you back" he whispered to him. "But I want to know how you're feeling. I know death can bring on all kinds of feelings; you can tell me about anything, you know?"

Abe pulled back, looking embarrassed at how he'd let his emotions go so freely. He whipped hastily at his eyes to rid them of tears and put some distance between him and Henry. Henry instantly felt cold and lonely at the parting. "I love you too, dad" Abe said, looking down at the ground uncertainly. It broke Henry's heart.

"You want to talk about it?" Henry prodded. He'd waited for so long to share this with someone who knew how he felt. He thought back to his first death; how he wished he'd had someone then to share his experience with.

But Abe shook his head. "I'm just kind of tired. I'm going to go to bed, okay?" he said. His fatigue, physically and mentally was evident on his face.

With a pang of regret, Henry nodded. "Okay" he said.

…..

Abe went to bed and didn't emerge from his room all day or the following night. Henry put dinner on a tray by his door but Abe never touched it. Henry found that all night he lay in bed and couldn't sleep. All he could do was stare up at the ceiling, thinking about Abe and worrying how he was faring in all of this.

Henry had no idea how Abe felt about all of this. Was he happy he was immortal? Did he hate it? What had been his thoughts as he'd emerged from the East River, alive and well, like he'd seen Henry do so many times? He wanted so much to be able to ease the obvious pain that his son felt but he gave him space. He knew that sometimes after a death the last thing he wanted to do was talk about it and he would have to give Abe the respect to choose his own medicine after a death; even if it made Henry feel impossibly far from him.

Henry gave up trying to sleep as the sun was coming up pink through the curtains in his room. He walked down to Abe's room but found it empty. His bed was slept in, the food still untouched; a quick search of the house found no trace of Abe. Henry walked up to the roof, relived when he found Abe there and not having gone somewhere.

Snow was falling gently from the sky as the sun began to peak from the horizon, an odd contrast. Abe was standing by the railing, looking across the city as he pulled a blanket tight around his shoulders. Henry came to stand next to Abe. "Morning" Henry said, wanting to say something but not wanting to push him.

"Morning…..you're up early. Even for you" Abe said. He noticed Henry's shivering and offered half of the blanket. Henry wrapped it around him and instantly felt Abe's warmth begin to thaw him out.

"Couldn't sleep" Henry admitted. He didn't want to tell Abe that he had been worrying about him all night but he was sure that Abe would know.

"I slept but not well. Off and on" Abe said, looking thoughtful.

Henry wanted to say more but he let the silence of the early morning drag on. He was relieved when Abe finally spoke again. "Were you scared, Henry? The first time?"

Henry was so surprised he pulled back slightly to look at Abe. Abe looked vulnerable, sad; his eyes were full of emotion but he wasn't in danger of crying. "I'm scared every time" Henry admitted honestly. "Even though I know I'm coming back it doesn't stop it from being scary or stop it from hurting. Certainly the first time was frightening; I felt my life slipping away and I didn't know I'd come back. I just thought it was all over"

"All I could think about was you, in that moment" Abe admitted, looking down and coughing the thick emotion from his voice.

Henry turned toward Abe, ready to speak but Abe continued. "I could feel everything getting black and far away" he said. "It's like I could literally feel the earth slipping away from me. And all I could think about was you. I worried how you would do without me. I wanted to keep protecting you; and now I get to"

Overwhelmed with emotion, Henry pulled Abe into a hug. Abe had had to take care of Henry more than any other child should have. Henry regretted that he had put so much on him; Abe was the child and Henry should have been caring for him. His last thoughts shouldn't have been to worry about Henry. "I'm so sorry, Abe. I have put too much on you for you to worry about me like that. You're my son and I should be the one taking care of you."

When Abe pulled back, to Henry's relief he was smiling. "Well, good thing we've got a lot of time for you to make it up to me, right?" he said.

Henry could sense Abe's mood lightening and he couldn't help but relax too. "Forever" Henry said.

"I better start making a list then, of ways you can make it up to me" Abe teased. "Starting with giving all your buddies at the police station a good kick in the pants for making fun of me for skinny dipping!"

Henry couldn't resist giving a relieved laugh. "Oh Abe, I'm so sorry you had to go through that" he said. "I tried to get to the river as soon as I could. I know it is horrible being picked up by the police like that."

"You get to do it at 35…..imagine it at 70!" Abe went on incredulously. "I'm sure when you do it every one misguidedly thinks it's sexy. I do it and everyone thinks I'm a senile old man who should be put in a home!" Abe turned toward Henry. "And where's the justice in that? You get to be forever a young man and I'm stuck with these old bones forever?"

Henry put an arm around Abe's shoulders as they both laughed. "There's no justice in the world" Henry said with mock severity. "Maybe I can make it up just a small measure by making Abigail's famous pancakes for breakfast?"

Henry knew they had a long way to go; there would joking but eventually it would hit them again and there would tears and sorrow of all kinds. When Abe turned and smiled at Henry, he said just what the situation entailed. "It's a start"

 _I'm sure it would never make sense for Abe to be immortal in the show but in my own mind Henry and Abe will never be seperated :) Thanks for reading!_


End file.
